In South Africa, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) introduced the auto-assessment process to streamline and simplify tax filing for individual taxpayers.
The auto-assessment involves SARS pre-populating tax returns with data received from various third-party sources, such as employers, financial institutions, medical aid schemes, and retirement annuity funds. Eligible taxpayers receive an SMS or email notification from SARS informing them that an auto-assessment has been issued.
Once notified, taxpayers are required to log in to their eFiling account or the SARS MobiApp to review their auto-assessment. If they agree with the assessment, they can accept it without making any changes. However, if taxpayers believe the pre-populated information is incorrect or incomplete, they can edit their return and submit the changes to SARS. After reviewing and either accepting or adjusting the auto-assessment, it is officially submitted to SARS.
It is crucial for taxpayers to carefully review the auto-assessment to ensure all information is accurate and complete. They must respond to the auto-assessment by the stipulated deadline here to avoid penalties or interest. Even if they accept the auto-assessment, taxpayers should retain supporting documentation for the information included in their tax return, as SARS may request verification.
The auto-assessment process offers several advantages. It simplifies tax filing by reducing the need for manual data entry, sars auto-assessment 2024 speeds up the assessment process, and potentially expedites the issuance of refunds. By using verified data from third-party sources, it also reduces errors.
However, not all taxpayers are eligible for auto-assessment. Eligibility is determined based on various factors, including the completeness of third-party data received by SARS.
By adopting auto-assessment, SARS aims to make the tax filing process more efficient and user-friendly, helping to ensure auto assessment that taxpayers comply with their tax obligations with minimal hassle.